Seelyville coal: a major unexploited seam in Illinois

Technical Report · Sun Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:5570231

Treworgy, C G

New mapping at the Illinois State Geological Survey has revealed that a major minable coal seam, the Seelyville Coal Member of the Spoon Formation, underlies a large area of eastern Illinois. Although the Seelyville Coal has been actively mined in adjacent parts of Indiana for many years and its presence in Illinois known for some time, its extent in Illinois had not been determined. This study, which principally utilized geophysical logs from oil test holes, shows that the Seelyville Coal may be as much as 3 1/2 to 9 feet thick under an area of approximately 1900 square miles of Clark, Clay, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Richland, and Shelby Counties. Possible in-place coal resources are estimated to be 8 billion tons. The Seelyville Coal has seldom been tested by coal companies in the study area. The Seelyville Coal lies about 160 to 240 feet below the Springfield (No. 5) Coal Member of the Carbondale Formation and ranges from 350 to 1500 feet deep in the area studied. The Seelyville usually has one or more shale partings that vary in thickness from a few inches to several feet. Since it is difficult to determine the number and thickness of the partings from available geophysical logs, estimates of coal resources are therefore somewhat uncertain. Often the coal has a siltstone or sandstone roof; in some areas cutouts in the coal are numerous. Core data are needed to confirm coal thickness and to evaluate the water content and strength of the sandstone and the quality of the coal. The Seelyville Coal has significant resource potential and warrants further exploration.

• Research Organization: Illinois Inst. of Natural Resources, Champaign (USA). State Geological Survey Div.
• OSTI ID: 5570231
• Report Number(s): IMN-80; ON: DE82902058
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
011000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
COAL DEPOSITS
DATA
DIMENSIONS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXPLORATION
FEDERAL REGION V
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
ILLINOIS
INFORMATION
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NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SHALES
STRATIGRAPHY
SURVEYS
THICKNESS
USA